Episode Summary

How the market feels on the floor:

A lot of the same. Everyone in the office is very busy. The local market is very active. We’re still seeing multiple offers on properties but nobody is wildly overshooting anymore. The attached market is very active but it’s a different story in the detached market.

Attached (Condos/Townhomes)

Downtown:

There’s a 37% sales ratio in the downtown attached market – meaning 3.7 of every 10 homes are selling. This makes it a seller’s market. Homes are selling 3% above asking. The most active price band is entry level homes around $500,000. Inventory is down 12%. However, this is part of the seasonal ebb and flow. October is prime time for selling in the fall. It’s not surprising to see inventory drop as we move into winter and the holiday season.

East Vancouver:

The benchmark price is down 2.7%, a correction from the 3% increase last month. There’s a 66% sales ratio in this market. It’s very strong up to homes selling for $1.2 million. The inventory is down 15%.

Vancouver West:

The benchmark price is up 0.9%; so it’s basically flat. Like the other markets and typical for this time of year, inventory is down 13%. The sales ratio is at 40%.

Overall:

The attached market is active. Most of the activity is for homes selling at less than $1.5 million, meaning it’s a local market with lots of end users. This makes for a more active market. There’s nothing too surprising in this month’s stats.

Detached

Vancouver West:

There’s a 14% sales ratio in this area of Vancouver. Homes are selling for 4% below list price and the price index is down 1.4%. Inventory is also down 12%.

East Vancouver:

There’s a 12% sales ratio in East Vancouver for detached homes. Anything over $1.5 million is a tough sell. For example, there were 484 homes listed for over $1.5 million and only 30 sales. We see there’s still a lot of activity in the entry level market but less when you hit the higher price points. The price index is down 2.8% this month and down 3.9% over the last three months.

Overall:

We’re starting to see homes sell below asking price in the detached market. Selling over the holidays isn’t an ideal time with very low traffic. So if you see something on the market, you know the seller really needs to sell. So there are some opportunities out there for buyers.

The BC Real Estate Association is predicting home sales will decline massively in 2017 due to government intervention and affordability issues. In Greater Vancouver, they’re predicting an 8.7% decline. However, we’re unsure if the decline will be that steep. People have been predicting Vancouver real estate trends for years and don’t always get it right. However, there are definitely some opportunities for buyers out there, especially at the higher price point.

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